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Tuesday, 5 November 2013

Spotlight on Lara Akinsete

Take us down memory lane.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a beautician?

I have always been an artistic person. I always wanted to
have an expression for my art and make up artistry simply afforded me that
opportunity. It was more of an intuitive thing, something I have always wanted
to do.

What was life like before
Nela’s?

I grew up in Lokoja, a small town in Kogi state. I attended
my secondary school in Abuja and just pretty much grew up in the north. I came
to Lagos in 2006 where I did my internship with House of Tara.

What was it like when you
first started your business?

The story
for Nela’s started with my internship with House of Tara. I came into Lagos and
I told myself that rather than pursuing a career in the line of what I studied,
I was going to pursue something I was
passionate about which is make up artistry. So I met Tara and she advised that
I signed up as a beauty Rep. I did and began to sell her products and got
tutored along the line. I used to go round offices in Lagos selling her products.
One day I came across a lady that had a saloon and wanted a makeup studio but
didn’t want to invest in that line of business. So I came in and that’s how
Nela’s beauty options started.

Did you get any support
from family and friends?

Yes I had a
lot of support from family and friends and it hasn’t stopped ever since.

Any fears or challenges
since you started your business and how did you overcome it

Oh yes, my
dad never saw any sense in what I wanted to do, he thought I was wasting my
time. Even till now I don’t think he understands what I am doing. He knows I am
doing well but I don’t think he gets it. If you are
passionate about your dream, the passion will drive you and keep you focused. I
had so many fears and lots of challenges in the beginning. One of my fears was,
am I going to make it?I hope I’m not
making a mistake? Maybe I should go and get a job? Lots of challenges because I
left school and started business
immediately and had lots of challenges getting myself grounded as an
entrepreneur but in the long run it paid off.

Do you think it’s better to
work in cooperate world first before starting a business

I will
encourage my children to discover their passion in time to start up without
delays. In my opinion, getting a cooperate job before starting out what is
meant to be your purpose, I feel, can be distracting. I advise you start early.
If you start at age 19 by the time you are 23 you would have established yourself
and made all the mistakes to make early in your business and recover in time
for you to grow and fly. Most of the
great minds that we have heard about and the ones we now know started early and
kept at it. They never looked back even when people didn’t understand what they
were up to.

How were you able to grow
your business from N10,000 to this

Thankfully House
of Tara was a good benchmark for my business. At the time I enrolled as a
beauty Rep, her products where relatively new in the market. To sign up you had
to pay N30, 000 and she would give you N10, 000 worth of products. The good
thing was you get to make 100% profit on her products but I didn’t have N30,
000. I came to Lagos with N40, 000 and at the end of my first 2 weeks I had
spent N25, 000. By the time I met Tara, I had only N15, 000 left. She helped me
by telling me to pay N10, 000 and gave me N10,000 worth of products and I
continued to remit the remaining until it was complete and moved on from there.

What’s your advice to women
out there who want to start a business but don’t know how to go about it?

I would say
they are challenges everywhere so don’t focus on the challenges but focus on
your goal. Focus on people who have made it in your field. In this country
there are business people who have built very successful businesses in spite of
the economic situation. So use successful people as your benchmark and run with
your dream.

If someone wants to start a similar
business would you advice they go to a beauty school for training and how would
they know the best one to choose.

I will
advice that they go for formal training and they should never stop learning.
They should find out from people who have trained as makeup artist where they
did their training and find out if the training modules and system of the
academy is compatible with their learning method.

Share an effective method you
have used to keep work stations and tools clean

We start the day early enough to clean up properly and open
to customers after we are done cleaning. Each of our staff is responsible for
keeping their work stations clean throughout the day. This of course achieved
with much supervision.

Name a time when your
patience was tested. How did you keep your emotions in check?

First of all, my mindset is that my customers pay my salary
so I take them seriously and I think this has helped me put things in proper perspective.
So no matter how big or small their fees are I am extra patient. Though some
people can be very demanding but I try not to take it personal.

Do you believe in luck or
destiny?

I wouldn’t say luck because I am a Christian and nothing just happens to
a child of God. Destiny is not a destination it’s a journey so it comes in
phases and it keeps unfolding.

About
Nela’s

Nela’s beauty option is a full option beauty place. We are
set out to make sure we provide various options to meet our client’s beauty
needs. We currently provide makeup services, sell cosmetic products and offer
spa services. Our focus is to ensure our customers have the best experience in
the most professional way.

My advice to young people is that “ great things have little
beginnings”. When you
start small, with determination and focus you will surely reach your goal.

Read. Listen. Chat.

Resident Blogger

An inspirational writer and published author of A Time to Heal, Love’s Lie and Debbie’s Diary. Her creative works are usually based on biblical principles told in a contemporary African style. Her latest book 'A Time to Heal' was nominated for the International Book Awards - Religious Fiction Category.